INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Zoo is introducing 'a whole new welcome' with a new entry on Memorial Day Weekend.
The entry "reshapes a zoo visit with a total immersion into nature from the very first steps inside the zoo," The Zoo announced.
Earlier this year, the Zoo launched its $53 million campaign for Our Zoo, Our Community, Our World, which funds major initiatives including the new guest welcome experience and entry, the Global Center for Species Survival and coming in 2024, the new International Chimpanzee Complex.
Now when visitors enter the zoo through the Indianapolis Colt Welcome Plaza,funded by Colts Owner Jim Irsay, they'll enter through White River Gardens.
As guests walk through colorful flowers, sculptures and fountains, the zoo says guest will be greeted with Wild Encounter animal ambassadors.
These animal ambassadors may include 'a chatty parrot, sleepy sloth, slithery snake, adorable aardvark, pouched rat– you never know who you will meet," the zoo said.
Next you'll enter the Global Center for Species Survival and be greeted by the images and video from National Geographic PhotoArk photographer Joel Sartore.
The center funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc, is a partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Species Survival Commission. The Center staff supports and connects thousands of conservation experts in securing a future for animals, fungi and
plants in more than 160 countries, the zoo said.
Then, guest will enjoy “Our Living Planet” a video experience in the Schaefer Rotunda, the zoo said. It features videos of wildlife like orangutans, elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees, arctic foxes, bison, fish and many more recorded in the wild and at the Zoo utilizing 360° technology.
You can purchase zoo tickets ahead of time online.
The Zoo is also reminding guests that the Zoo is now cashless but can convert cash to a debit card at no cost.
